


Birthday Reunion Series

by scullyphile



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, MSR, X-Files revival, mulder's birthday, reunited, separated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-30 00:12:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5143136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scullyphile/pseuds/scullyphile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scully comes home after a period of separation. X-Files Revival Reunion, if you will. Little ficlets I wrote for tumblr that go together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I awoke this day to the smell of coffee, and yet I live alone, mostly. There you were, mug in your hand, sitting at our table.  
  
“Happy birthday,” you said. And I noticed the boxes in the living room. “I was just unpacking.”


	2. The Mug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scully's favorite mug.

When Scully opened the cupboard it was there, on the lowest shelf where it had always rested: her favorite mug. It was dark gray with a quote from Moby Dick written on it in swooping white cursive letters. “It is not down on any map; true places never are,” it read. She picked up the mug in her right hand and turned it around, admiring it. 

Not only had he saved it, he’d glued the handle back together. She had been washing dishes during one of their worst arguments and dropped it on the tiled floor. The handle had broken into several pieces, but it had been otherwise intact.  

That felt like so long ago now. She passed the mug to her left hand and studied it, running her right thumb over the cracks in the handle. Her lips forming a small smile, she thought of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by filling the cracks with lacquer that contains a precious metal. The cracks did not need to be hidden, they were part of it now.

She filled the mug with coffee and just a splash of cream. She held it with both hands, lacing her fingers together under the handle. This way, no undue strain was placed on the weaker parts of the mug. Breathing in the rising steam, she sat down at the table and waited for him to wake.


	3. Unpacking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first thing Scully unpacks.

The first thing she took out of the box was a framed picture of baby William. She had taken it herself, leaning over his crib. It had been the last thing she had packed into the box when she left. She had needed to bring it with her but  had almost left it behind for Mulder. The photograph belonged on the bookshelf of their home; but William’s home was also in her heart, and she was taking her heart with her. 

She had kept it on her desk in her apartment. Now that she was moving back in, it belonged in its rightful spot. She turned around and walked the several feet to the shelf and gasped. In the spot where the frame had rested, Mulder had placed another photograph. Scully stood frozen for a moment then brushed a tear from her cheek. She remembered the day clearly. 

The Lone Gunmen were over to her apartment for the first time since she brought their son home. They had laughed with her and Mulder about old times and doted on their son like proud uncles. Before they left, Byers had produced a camera. 

“I want to get a shot of the happy family,” he’d said. 

They stood by the fridge; Scully held the baby and smiled at the camera. Mulder had his right arm around her waist, and his eyes were on their son as he grinned wide.

Scully had never seen the photo before. Mulder must have gotten it from Byers at some point, framed it, and put it here. She wondered how long he’d had it. Her mind flashed on the possibility of him looking at this photograph when he had been on the run alone. Shaking her head, she quickly chased the idea away. This was a happy day.

As she set her photo of William next to the other photo, she heard the gurgling sound of the coffee maker emptying the last of its water and went to the kitchen.


	4. Towels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few days later.

Mulder woke, hot and sweaty. The air felt thick. There was a weight on his chest, and his muscles almost refused to move. When he finally reached over to her side of the bed, he felt a lump of sheets and hoped, for a fleeting moment, that it might be her.

No, he recalled, she was still gone. He was alone.

He opened his sleep-crusted eyes, blinked, and rubbed them vigorously. When he reopened them, he saw the light coming from the crack in the bathroom door. The shower, he realized, was running.

It had not been a dream. She had returned to him, and there was much left, yet, to do.

But there was some room for him to enjoy this reunion first. Silently, he pushed the door open, reached into the bathroom, and stole anything she might be able to use as a towel.

A few minutes later the water stopped, and he heard the shower curtain open. There was a pause during which her eyes must have searched the room followed by her glorious, echoing laughter.

“Mulder, what the hell?”


End file.
